Method and system for managing dropped call operations

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for managing dropped call operations are provided here. In some embodiments a method for managing dropped call operations may include receiving a first notification of a change in network connectivity during a communication session between a first user device and a second user device; receiving a second notification of a change in network connectivity; generating communication data for the communication session based on a time that the first notification of a change in network connectivity was received; and transmitting the communication data to a service provider.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to communicationsystems and, more particularly, to methods and systems for managingdropped call operations in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)application.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) communication between two or moreparties, the party that hangs up sends a BYE message to the otherparties. The VoIP provider knows from the BYE message that the call isover and therefore, when to stop billing. However, a call may drop dueto a loss in network connectivity, for example, when a user enters a“dead zone”. In such case, the user device cannot tear down the callgracefully through the use of the BYE message. As such, the VoIPprovider does not know the call has terminated. In some instances, eventhe user is not aware that the call has terminated, for example, if theuser's device loses network connectivity while the user is on hold.

The user device may regain network connectivity, allowing the user toattempt to place a call. However, if the user is not entitled to placeconcurrent calls, the user is prevented from making the call because theservice provider records indicate that the user device has an activecall. If the user is entitled to make concurrent calls, the user may bedouble-billed.

Currently, a VoIP provider may maintain TCP/IP connections with the userdevices that are configured to “ping” the devices periodically, forexample, every ten (10) minutes. A loss of connection to one of theparties may signal to the VoIP provider that the call has terminated.Again, if the user device regains connectivity before the VoIP provideris aware of the loss of connectivity, the user may be prevented frommaking a call or double-billed.

In view of the foregoing, there exists a need in the art for improvedmethods and systems for managing dropped call operations in a Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) application.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems for managing dropped call operations are providedhere. In some embodiments a method for managing dropped call operationsmay include receiving a first notification of a change in networkconnectivity during a communication session between a first user deviceand a second user device; receiving a second notification of a change innetwork connectivity; generating communication data for thecommunication session based on a time that the first notification of achange in network connectivity was received; and transmitting thecommunication data to a service provider.

In some embodiments, a method for managing dropped call operations mayinclude receiving communication data for at least one droppedcommunication from a user device; verifying the at least one droppedcommunication has an active status; and at least one of tearing down theat least one dropped communication, removing the at least onecommunications from a list of active communications in a currentcommunications memory, or providing billing information for acommunication session associated with the at least one droppedcommunication to a billing server.

In some embodiments, a system for managing dropped call operations mayinclude a mobile application configured to: receive a first notificationof a change in network connectivity during a communication sessionbetween a first user device and a second user device; receive a secondnotification of a change in network connectivity; generate communicationdata for the communication session based on a time that the firstnotification of a change in network connectivity was received; andtransmit the communication data to a service provider.

Other and further embodiments of the present invention are describedbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentinvention can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a telecommunication network, accordingto one or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a system for managing dropped calloperations, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 depicts a method for managing dropped call operations, accordingto one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 4 depicts a computer system that can be utilized in variousembodiments of the present invention, according to one or moreembodiments.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplifiedfor clarity. It is contemplated that elements and features of oneembodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments withoutfurther recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to improvedmethods and systems for managing dropped call operations in a Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) application. More specifically, embodiments ofthe present invention enable a mobile app, for example, a VoIPtelecommunication application, to determine when one or more calls havedropped. When it is determined that one or more calls have dropped, anotification is sent to a service provider to tear down the dropped calland adjust billing for the call based on a time when the call wasdropped. A user device receives an indication when a network connectionis lost. The time of the loss of network connectivity is cached by themobile app. When the mobile app receives an indication that the networkconnection has been restored, the mobile app determines which calls wereactive when the network connection was lost. A call is considered to beactive if there is real-time communication between two devices. Suchactive calls may have a status of “active” indicating that thecommunication between devices is in progress. The mobile app generates anotification for each call that was active when the connection was lostthat includes at least a call identifier, a start time of the call, anda time when the network connection was lost. The notification is sent toa service provider thereby instructing the service provider to tear downthe call, update a database of current calls for the user, and create anaccurate billing record for the call.

Some portions of the detailed description which follow are presented interms of operations on binary digital signals stored within a memory ofa specific apparatus or special purpose computing device or platform. Inthe context of this particular specification, the term specificapparatus or the like includes a general purpose computer once it isprogrammed to perform particular functions pursuant to instructions fromprogram software. In this context, operations or processing involvephysical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, although notnecessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical or magneticsignals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared orotherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principallyfor reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, data,values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals or thelike. It should be understood, however, that all of these or similarterms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, asapparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated thatthroughout this specification discussions utilizing terms such as“processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining” or the likerefer to actions or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a specialpurpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computingdevice. In the context of this specification, therefore, a specialpurpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computingdevice is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typicallyrepresented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities withinmemories, registers, or other information storage devices, transmissiondevices, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similarspecial purpose electronic computing device.

In the following description, the terms VOIP system, VOIP telephonysystem, IP system and IP telephony system are all intended to refer to asystem that connects callers and that delivers data, text and videocommunications using Internet protocol data communications. Those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that embodiments of the presentinvention are not limited to use with IP telephony systems and may alsobe used in other systems.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a communications environment 100 is providedto facilitate IP enhanced communications. An IP telephony system 120enables connection of telephone calls between its own customers andother parties via data communications that pass over a data network 110.The data network 110 is commonly the Internet, although the IP telephonysystem 120 may also make use of private data networks. The IP telephonysystem 120 is connected to the Internet 110. In addition, the IPtelephony system 120 is connected to a publicly switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 130 via a gateway 122. The PSTN 130 may also be directlycoupled to the Internet 110 through one of its own internal gateways(not shown). Thus, communications may pass back and forth between the IPtelephony system 120 and the PSTN 130 through the Internet 110 via agateway maintained within the PSTN 130.

The gateway 122 allows users and devices that are connected to the PSTN130 to connect with users and devices that are reachable through the IPtelephony system 120, and vice versa. In some instances, the gateway 122would be a part of the IP telephony system 120. In other instances, thegateway 122 could be maintained by a third party.

Customers of the IP telephony system 120 can place and receive telephonecalls using an IP telephone 108 that is connected to the Internet 110.Such an IP telephone 108 could be connected to an Internet serviceprovider via a wired connection or via a wireless router. In someinstances, the IP telephone 108 could utilize a packet-switched networkof a cellular telephone system to access the Internet 110.

Alternatively, a customer could utilize an analog telephone 102 which isconnected to the Internet 110 via a telephone adapter 104. The telephoneadapter 104 converts analog signals from the telephone 102 into datasignals that pass over the Internet 110, and vice versa. Analogtelephone devices include but are not limited to standard telephones anddocument imaging devices such as facsimile machines. A configurationusing a telephone adapter 104 is common where the analog telephone 102is located in a residence or business. Other configurations are alsopossible where multiple analog telephones share access through the sameIP adaptor. In those situations, all analog telephones could share thesame telephone number, or multiple communication lines (e.g., additionaltelephone numbers) may provisioned by the IP telephony system 120.

In addition, a customer could utilize a soft-phone client running on acomputer 106 or a television 109 to place and receive IP based telephonecalls, and to access other IP telephony systems (not shown). Thecomputer 106 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet device, a gamingsystem, and the like. In some instances, the soft-phone client could beassigned its own telephone number. In other instances, the soft-phoneclient could be associated with a telephone number that is also assignedto an IP telephone 108, or to a telephone adaptor 104 that is connectedone or more analog telephones 102.

users of the IP telephony system 120 are able to access the service fromvirtually any location where they can connect to the Internet 110. Thus,a customer could register with an IP telephony system provider in theU.S., and that customer could then use an IP telephone 108 located in acountry outside the U.S. to access the services. Likewise, the customercould also utilize a computer outside the U.S. that is running asoft-phone client to access the IP telephony system 120.

A third party using an analog telephone 132 which is connected to thePSTN 130 may call a customer of the IP telephony system 120. In thisinstance, the call is initially connected from the analog telephone 132to the PSTN 130, and then from the PSTN 130, through the gateway 122 tothe IP telephony system 120. The IP telephony system 120 then routes thecall to the customer's IP telephony device. A third party using acellular telephone 134 could also place a call to an IP telephony systemcustomer, and the connection would be established in a similar manner,although the first link would involve communications between thecellular telephone 134 and a cellular telephone network. For purposes ofthis explanation, the cellular telephone network is considered part ofthe PSTN 130.

In the following description, references will be made to an “IPtelephony device.” This term is used to refer to any type of devicewhich is capable of interacting with an IP telephony system to completean audio or video telephone call or to send and receive text messages,and other forms of communications. An IP telephony device could be an IPtelephone, a computer running IP telephony software, a telephone adapterwhich is itself connected to a normal analog telephone, or some othertype of device capable of communicating via data packets. An IPtelephony device could also be a cellular telephone or a portablecomputing device that runs a software application that enables thedevice to act as an IP telephone. Thus, a single device might be capableof operating as both a cellular telephone that can facilitate voicebased session calls, and an IP telephone that can facilitate data basedsession calls.

The following description will also refer to a mobile telephony device.The term “mobile telephony device” is intended to encompass multipledifferent types of devices. In some instances, a mobile telephony devicecould be a cellular telephone. In other instances, a mobile telephonydevice may be a mobile computing device, such as the APPLE IPHONE, thatincludes both cellular telephone capabilities and a wireless datatransceiver that can establish a wireless data connection to a datanetwork. Such a mobile computing device could run appropriateapplication software to conduct VoIP telephone calls via a wireless dataconnection. Thus, a mobile computing device, such as an APPLE IPHONE, aRIM BLACKBERRY or a comparable device running GOOGLE ANDROID operatingsystem could be a mobile telephony device.

In still other instances, a mobile telephony device may be a device thatis not traditionally used as a telephony device, but which includes awireless data transceiver that can establish a wireless data connectionto a data network. Examples of such devices include the APPLE IPOD TOUCHand the IPAD. Such a device may act as a mobile telephony device once itis configured with appropriate application software.

FIG. 1 illustrates that a mobile computing device with cellularcapabilities 136A (e.g., a smartphone) is capable of establishing afirst wireless data connection A with a first wireless access point 140,such as a WiFi or WiMax router. The first wireless access point 140 iscoupled to the Internet 110. Thus, the mobile computing device 136A canestablish a VOIP telephone call with the IP telephony system 120 via apath through the Internet 110 and the first wireless access point 140.

FIG. 1 also illustrates that the mobile computing device 136A canestablish a second wireless data connection B with a second wirelessaccess point 142 that is also coupled to the Internet 110. Further, themobile computing device 136A can establish either a third wireless dataconnection C via a packet-switch network provided by a cellular serviceprovider 130 using its cellular telephone capabilities, or establish avoice based session telephone call via a circuit-switched networkprovided by a cellular service provider 130. The mobile computing device136A could also establish a VoIP telephone call with the IP telephonysystem 120 via the second wireless connection B or the third wirelessconnection C.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile computing device 136A maybe capable of establishing a wireless data connection to a data network,such as the Internet 110, via alternate means. For example, the mobilecomputing device 136A might link to some other type of wirelessinterface using an alternate communication protocol, such as the WIMAXstandard. In the embodiments described above, a device may act as amobile telephony device once it is configured with appropriateapplication software that may be downloaded from an app distributionplatform 144. For example, mobile computing device 136A may download aVOIP mobile app from app distribution platform 144 and install the VOIPmobile app on mobile computing device 136A.

Similarly, mobile computing device with cellular capabilities 136B mayalso be coupled to internet 110 and/or cellular service provider 130. Insome embodiments, mobile computing device 136B may be connected tointernet 110 via a WIFI or WIMAX connection, and the like, and can alsoestablish a VOIP telephone calls with the IP telephony system 120similar to mobile computing device 136A. In embodiments of the presentinvention, communications environment 100 may be used to establish voicebased or data based telecommunications sessions between mobile computingdevice 136A and mobile computing device 136B, depending on variouscriteria associated with each of the mobile computing devices, as willbe described below in more detail. In some exemplary embodimentsdescribed below, mobile computing devices 136A and 136B are on differentservice provider networks and communications between mobile computingdevices 136A and 136B are “off-net” communications. When mobilecomputing devices 136A and 136B are on the same service providernetwork, communications between mobile computing devices 136A and 136Bare considered “on-net” communications.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a system 200 for managing dropped calloperations in accordance with embodiments presented herein. The system200 includes at least one telecommunication service provider 208 thatcan provide telecommunication services to a plurality of end-userdevices (e.g., such as user A device 202, user B device 204, and user Cdevice 206) via one or more networks 210. Devices 202, 204, and 206 mayinclude analog phone 102, a computer with IP software 106, IP telephone108, and/or mobile computing device with cellular capabilities 136A,136B, and the like, as shown in FIG. 1. The telecommunication serviceprovider 208 may include IP telephone system 120 that facilitates on-netcalls between user A device 202, user B device 204, and user C device206.

The end-user devices (e.g., user A device 202, user B device 204, anduser C device 206) comprise a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 212, supportcircuits 214, display 216, and memory 218. The CPU 212 may comprise oneor more commercially available microprocessors or microcontrollers thatfacilitate data processing and storage. The various support circuits 214facilitate the operation of the CPU 212 and include one or more clockcircuits, power supplies, cache, input/output circuits, and the like.The memory 218 comprises at least one of Read Only Memory (ROM), RandomAccess Memory (RAM), disk drive storage, optical storage, removablestorage and/or the like. In some embodiments, the memory 218 comprisesan operating system (OS) 220, and a mobile app 222. The mobile app 222may be a VoIP mobile telecommunications application provided by, orotherwise associated with, telecommunication service provider 208. Themobile app 222 may be downloaded from app distribution platform 144 andinstalled on user A device 202, user B device 204, and/or user C device206. The mobile app 222 includes a communication module 224, aconnection monitoring module 226, and a call log 228. The communicationmodule 224 is designed to provide telecommunication services to thedevice. The connection monitoring module 226 is designed to processnotifications received from the operating system 220 when a change innetwork connectivity is identified. The call log 228 includes callsplaced by the user device in addition to a time when the callstarted/ended. The call log 228 may be used to identify calls that weremade but were subsequently dropped. A call in the call log 228 that doesnot include an end time may identify a dropped call.

The operating system (OS) 220 generally manages various computerresources (e.g., network resources, file processors, and/or the like).The operating system 220 is configured to execute operations on one ormore hardware and/or software modules, such as Network Interface Cards(NICs), hard disks, virtualization layers, firewalls and/or the like.Examples of the operating system 220 may include, but are not limitedto, LINUX, MAC OSX, BSD, UNIX, MICROSOFT WINDOWS, 10S, ANDROID and thelike.

The telecommunication service provider 208 may be a VoIP serviceprovider network and includes a call processing system 230 and a billingsystem 244. In some embodiments, the call processing system 230comprises a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 232, support circuits 234, andmemory 236. The CPU 232 may comprise one or more commercially availablemicroprocessors or microcontrollers that facilitate data processing andstorage. The various support circuits 234 facilitate the operation ofthe CPU 232 and include one or more clock circuits, power supplies,cache, input/output circuits, and the like. The memory 236 comprises atleast one of Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), diskdrive storage, optical storage, removable storage and/or the like. Insome embodiments, the memory 236 comprises an operating system 238, acall termination module 240, and a current calls database 242. Althoughdescribed herein as a database, those skilled in the art can appreciatethat a record of current calls may be maintained in any memorystructure, for example, a distributed cache or the like. The calltermination module 240 is designed to handle the tearing down of callsthat have been identified as dropped calls. The call termination module240 is further designed to remove the call from the calls identified inthe current calls database 242. The call termination module 240 is alsodesigned to generate a billing record for the dropped call and provideit to the billing system 244. In some embodiments, the processes of thecall processing system 230 may be distributed across two or more serverscommunicatively coupled to one another. In some embodiments, the billingsystem 244 may be disposed on a single server. In other embodiments, thecall processing system 230 and the billing system 244 may each beseparate servers communicatively coupled to one another.

The OS 238 generally manages various computer resources (e.g., networkresources, file processors, and/or the like). The operating system 238is configured to execute operations on one or more hardware and/orsoftware modules, such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), hard disks,virtualization layers, firewalls and/or the like. Examples of theoperating system 238 may include, but are not limited to, LINUX, MACOSX, BSD, UNIX, MICROSOFT WINDOWS, 10S, ANDROID and the like.

The networks 210 comprise one or more communication systems that connectcomputers by wire, cable, fiber optic and/or wireless link facilitatedby various types of well-known network elements, such as hubs, switches,routers, and the like. The networks 210 may include an Internet Protocol(IP) network 110, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 130, orother mobile communication networks listed above, and may employ variouswell-known protocols to communicate information amongst the networkresources.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method 300 for managing dropped call operationsbegins at 302 where user A places a call to user B. In some embodiments,the call may be originated by a telecommunication device such as, forexample, user A device 202 in FIG. 2. In attempting to establish thecall with user B, a call request is sent to call processing system 230to be processed at step 302. In a VoIP network, the call requestoftentimes takes the form of a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITEmessage sent from user A device 202 to a call processing system 230. Ina VoIP network, the call processing system 230 may be, for example, aSIP Proxy Network. The details and functionality of SIP can be found inthe Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC)Paper No. 3261 entitled, “SIP: Session Initiation Protocol” hereinincorporated in its entirety by reference.

Call processing system 230 establishes a call between user A device 202and user B device 204 at step 304. To accomplish this, in someembodiments, call processing system 230 (e.g., a SIP Proxy Network) maysend a SIP INVITE message to user B device 204. User B device 204responds with a SIP OK message. User A device 202 may respond with anSIP ACK message and the call between user A device 202 and user B device204 is established. In some embodiments, establishing thetelecommunication session between the user A device 202 and user Bdevice 204 includes: (1) sending a first acknowledgement/call acceptancemessage in response to the call from user B device 204 to the callprocessing system 230, and (2) sending a second acknowledgement/callacceptance message from the call processing system 230 to user A device202, to establish the call between the user A device 202 and user Bdevice 204. In some embodiments, the first and secondacknowledgement/call acceptance messages may include information in theheader or the body of the message to inform user A device 202 that thecall is being established with user B device 204. For example, in a VoIPsystem, the first and second acknowledgement/call acceptance messagesmay be SIP 200 OK messages. The SIP 200 OK messages may include a customSIP header indicating that the call is being established with user Bdevice 204.

The mobile app 222 adds the call to the call log 228 at step 306. Thecall processing system 230 adds the call to a concurrent call database242 at step 308. In some embodiments, the telecommunication sessionestablished may be a real time transfer protocol (RTP) stream betweenthe communication module 224 of the mobile app 222 disposed on user Adevice 202 and user B device 204. The telecommunication sessioncontinues at step 310.

While on the call with user B device 204, if the user is entitled by theservice provider 208 to make concurrent calls, user A device 202 mayplace a second call. For example, user A device 202 may place the callwith user B device 204 on hold and place a second call to user C device206 or user A may add user C device 206 to the call with user B device204.

The call processing system 230 verifies that user A may make concurrentcalls and determines from the concurrent call database 242 that user Ahas not exceeded the allowable number of concurrent calls. When the callprocessing system 230 determines that user A may place the call to userC, the call processing system 230 establishes a call between user Adevice 202 and user C device 206 at step 314, similarly to how the callbetween user A device 202 and user B device 204 was established. Inaddition, the mobile app 222 adds the call to the call log 228 at step316. The call processing system 230 adds the call to a concurrent calldatabase 242 at step 318. The telecommunication session between user Adevice 202 and user C device 206 continues at step 320.

At step 322, a connection to the network is lost. When the connection tothe network is lost, the mobile app 222 receives a notification from theoperating system 220 at step 324. The notification indicates that achange in connectivity has occurred. For example, in 10S, a reachabilityapplication monitors the network state of an IOS device. When a changein the network state (e.g. connected to not connected or not connectedto connected), the operating system 220 notifies the mobile app 222.Other operating systems, such as ANDROID, MS WINDOWS, and the like mayuse a similar types of reachability applications or provide access toapplication programming interface (API) calls that may be used todetermine the reachability/network state of a telecommunication network.The connection monitoring module 226 caches the time that theconnectivity was lost.

At step 326, the connection to the network is regained. When theconnection to the network is regained, the mobile app 222 receives anotification from the operating system 220 at step 328. The notificationindicates that a change in connectivity has occurred and may be comefrom a reachability application or API call.

The connection monitoring module 226 sends call data to the callprocessing system 230 at step 330. The connection monitoring module 226accesses the call log 228 to identify dropped calls (i.e., calls thatwere active when the network connection was lost). A call is consideredto be active if there is real-time communication between two devices.Such active calls may have a status of “active” indicating that thecommunication between devices is in progress. Calls that were active atthe time of the loss of network connectivity include calls for which theuser A device 202 did not send or receive a teardown request (e.g., aSIP BYE). In the present example, the call between user A device 202 anduser B device 204 was dropped. In addition, the call between user Adevice 202 and user C device 206 was dropped.

In some embodiments, when the network connectivity is restored, theconnection monitoring module 226 may prompt the user to redial or theuser A device 202 to auto-redial calls that are identified as dropped.

For each identified call, the connection monitoring module 226identifies call data, for example, a start time of the call, a time thecall ended (i.e., time network connection was lost), a length of thecall, a dialed number, a call identifier (e.g., SIP call-ID), callernumber, and callee number for the identified call. The connectionmonitoring module 226 generates call data for the dropped calls andtransmits the call data in a message to the call processing system 230at step 330. The message may be sent out-of-band to the service provider208. In some embodiments, out-of-band refers to the exchange of callcontrol information, for example, which may be sent via a separatecommunication connection from the data or voice stream connections. Insome embodiments, the call data may be sent via an SIP NOTIFY message,Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message, or the like. In someembodiments, user A device 202 waits for an acknowledgement responsefrom the service provider 208 before deleting data regarding the droppedcalls.

When the call processing system 230 receives the dropped call data fromuser A device 202, as described above, the call processing system 230may send an acknowledgement response to the user A device 202. The callprocessing system 230 then searches for the dropped call(s) in thecurrent calls database 242 to ensure that the dropped call is stillconsidered to be active and has not already been processed. The callprocessing system 230 then performs one or more of the following steps.

The call termination module 240 may teardown the dropped call(s) at step332. The call processing system 230 may update the current callsdatabase 242 to remove the dropped call(s) at 334. At 336, the callprocessing system 230 may generate and send call billing information tothe billing system 244. In some embodiments, the call billinginformation is calculated per the time the call data is received by thecall processing system 230. In some embodiments, the call billing isadjusted based on the time the network connectivity was lost on user Adevice 202.

The embodiments of the present invention may be embodied as methods,apparatus, electronic devices, and/or computer program products.Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied inhardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, and the like), which may be generally referred to herein asa “circuit” or “module”. Furthermore, the present invention may take theform of a computer program product on a computer-usable orcomputer-readable storage medium having computer-usable orcomputer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system. In the context of thisdocument, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be anymedium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport theprogram for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. These computer program instructions mayalso be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory that maydirect a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus tofunction in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe computer usable or computer-readable memory produce an article ofmanufacture including instructions that implement the function specifiedin the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus or device. More specificexamples (a non exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium includethe following: hard disks, optical storage devices, magnetic storagedevices, an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, and a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in an object oriented programming language,such as Java®, Smalltalk or C++, and the like. However, the computerprogram code for carrying out operations of the present invention mayalso be written in conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language and/or any other lower level assemblerlanguages. It will be further appreciated that the functionality of anyor all of the program modules may also be implemented using discretehardware components, one or more Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), or programmed Digital Signal Processors ormicrocontrollers.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the present disclosure and its practical applications, tothereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the inventionand various embodiments with various modifications as may be suited tothe particular use contemplated.

FIG. 4 depicts a computer system 400 that can be utilized in variousembodiments of the present invention to implement the computer and/orthe display, according to one or more embodiments.

Various embodiments of method and apparatus for organizing, displayingand accessing contacts in a contact list, as described herein, may beexecuted on one or more computer systems, which may interact withvarious other devices. One such computer system is computer system 400illustrated by FIG. 4, which may in various embodiments implement any ofthe elements or functionality illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. In variousembodiments, computer system 400 may be configured to implement methodsdescribed above. The computer system 400 may be used to implement anyother system, device, element, functionality or method of theabove-described embodiments. In the illustrated embodiments, computersystem 400 may be configured to implement method 300 asprocessor-executable executable program instructions 422 (e.g., programinstructions executable by processor(s) 410) in various embodiments.

In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 400 includes one or moreprocessors 410 a-410 n coupled to a system memory 420 via aninput/output (I/O) interface 430. Computer system 400 further includes anetwork interface 440 coupled to I/O interface 430, and one or moreinput/output devices 450, such as cursor control device 460, keyboard470, and display(s) 480. In various embodiments, any of the componentsmay be utilized by the system to receive user input described above. Invarious embodiments, a user interface may be generated and displayed ondisplay 480. In some cases, it is contemplated that embodiments may beimplemented using a single instance of computer system 400, while inother embodiments multiple such systems, or multiple nodes making upcomputer system 400, may be configured to host different portions orinstances of various embodiments. For example, in one embodiment someelements may be implemented via one or more nodes of computer system 400that are distinct from those nodes implementing other elements. Inanother example, multiple nodes may implement computer system 400 in adistributed manner.

In different embodiments, computer system 400 may be any of varioustypes of devices, including, but not limited to, a personal computersystem, desktop computer, laptop, notebook, or netbook computer,mainframe computer system, handheld computer, workstation, networkcomputer, a camera, a set top box, a mobile device, a consumer device,video game console, handheld video game device, application server,storage device, a peripheral device such as a switch, modem, router, orin general any type of computing or electronic device.

In various embodiments, computer system 400 may be a uniprocessor systemincluding one processor 410, or a multiprocessor system includingseveral processors 410 (e.g., two, four, eight, or another suitablenumber). Processors 410 may be any suitable processor capable ofexecuting instructions. For example, in various embodiments processors410 may be general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of avariety of instruction set architectures (ISAs). In multiprocessorsystems, each of processors 410 may commonly, but not necessarily,implement the same ISA.

System memory 420 may be configured to store program instructions 422and/or data 432 accessible by processor 410. In various embodiments,system memory 420 may be implemented using any suitable memorytechnology, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronousdynamic RAM (SDRAM), nonvolatile/Flash-type memory, or any other type ofmemory. In the illustrated embodiment, program instructions and dataimplementing any of the elements of the embodiments described above maybe stored within system memory 420. In other embodiments, programinstructions and/or data may be received, sent or stored upon differenttypes of computer-accessible media or on similar media separate fromsystem memory 420 or computer system 400.

In one embodiment, I/O interface 430 may be configured to coordinate I/Otraffic between processor 410, system memory 420, and any peripheraldevices in the device, including network interface 440 or otherperipheral interfaces, such as input/output devices 450. In someembodiments, I/O interface 430 may perform any necessary protocol,timing or other data transformations to convert data signals from onecomponent (e.g., system memory 420) into a format suitable for use byanother component (e.g., processor 410). In some embodiments, I/Ointerface 430 may include support for devices attached through varioustypes of peripheral buses, such as a variant of the Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB)standard, for example. In some embodiments, the function of I/Ointerface 430 may be split into two or more separate components, such asa north bridge and a south bridge, for example. Also, in someembodiments some or all of the functionality of I/O interface 430, suchas an interface to system memory 420, may be incorporated directly intoprocessor 410.

Network interface 440 may be configured to allow data to be exchangedbetween computer system 400 and other devices attached to a network(e.g., network 490), such as one or more external systems or betweennodes of computer system 400. In various embodiments, network 490 mayinclude one or more networks including but not limited to Local AreaNetworks (LANs) (e.g., an Ethernet or corporate network), Wide AreaNetworks (WANs) (e.g., the Internet), wireless data networks, some otherelectronic data network, or some combination thereof. In variousembodiments, network interface 440 may support communication via wiredor wireless general data networks, such as any suitable type of Ethernetnetwork, for example; via telecommunications/telephony networks such asanalog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks; viastorage area networks such as Fiber Channel SANs, or via any othersuitable type of network and/or protocol.

Input/output devices 450 may, in some embodiments, include one or moredisplay terminals, keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanning devices,voice or optical recognition devices, or any other devices suitable forentering or accessing data by one or more computer systems 400. Multipleinput/output devices 450 may be present in computer system 400 or may bedistributed on various nodes of computer system 400. In someembodiments, similar input/output devices may be separate from computersystem 400 and may interact with one or more nodes of computer system400 through a wired or wireless connection, such as over networkinterface 440.

In some embodiments, the illustrated computer system may implement anyof the methods described above, such as the methods illustrated by theflowchart of FIG. 3. In other embodiments, different elements and datamay be included.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system 400 ismerely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope ofembodiments. In particular, the computer system and devices may includeany combination of hardware or software that can perform the indicatedfunctions of various embodiments, including computers, network devices,Internet appliances, PDAs, wireless phones, pagers, and the like.Computer system 400 may also be connected to other devices that are notillustrated, or instead may operate as a stand-alone system. Inaddition, the functionality provided by the illustrated components mayin some embodiments be combined in fewer components or distributed inadditional components. Similarly, in some embodiments, the functionalityof some of the illustrated components may not be provided and/or otheradditional functionality may be available.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, while various itemsare illustrated as being stored in memory or on storage while beingused, these items or portions of them may be transferred between memoryand other storage devices for purposes of memory management and dataintegrity. Alternatively, in other embodiments some or all of thesoftware components may execute in memory on another device andcommunicate with the illustrated computer system via inter-computercommunication. Some or all of the system components or data structuresmay also be stored (e.g., as instructions or structured data) on acomputer-accessible medium or a portable article to be read by anappropriate drive, various examples of which are described above. Insome embodiments, instructions stored on a computer-accessible mediumseparate from computer system 400 may be transmitted to computer system400 via transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication mediumsuch as a network and/or a wireless link. Various embodiments mayfurther include receiving, sending or storing instructions and/or dataimplemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon acomputer-accessible medium or via a communication medium. In general, acomputer-accessible medium may include a storage medium or memory mediumsuch as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile ornon-volatile media such as RAM (e.g., SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, and thelike), ROM, and the like.

The methods described herein may be implemented in software, hardware,or a combination thereof, in different embodiments. In addition, theorder of methods may be changed, and various elements may be added,reordered, combined, omitted or otherwise modified. All examplesdescribed herein are presented in a non-limiting manner. Variousmodifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to a personskilled in the art having benefit of this disclosure. Realizations inaccordance with embodiments have been described in the context ofparticular embodiments. These embodiments are meant to be illustrativeand not limiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements are possible. Accordingly, plural instances may be providedfor components described herein as a single instance. Boundaries betweenvarious components, operations and data stores are somewhat arbitrary,and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specificillustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality areenvisioned and may fall within the scope of claims that follow. Finally,structures and functionality presented as discrete components in theexample configurations may be implemented as a combined structure orcomponent. These and other variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements may fall within the scope of embodiments as defined in theclaims that follow.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A computer-implemented method for managing dropped call operations,comprising: receiving a first notification of a change in networkconnectivity during a communication session between a first user deviceand a second user device; receiving a second notification of a change innetwork connectivity; generating communication data for thecommunication session based on a time that the first notification of achange in network connectivity was received; and transmitting thecommunication data to a service provider.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the first notification of a change in network connectivityidentifies that network connectivity to the first user device is lost.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first notification of a change innetwork connectivity indicates a disconnection of the communicationsession between the first user device and the second user device.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising storing a time associated with thefirst notification of a change in network connectivity.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first notification and the second notification arereceived by a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunicationapplication disposed on the first user device.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the second notification of a change in network connectivityidentifies that network connectivity to the first user device isrestored.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session isa Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) session.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the communication session is established using a Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunication application disposed on afirst user device.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein generatingcommunication data comprises: identifying one or more communicationsthat had an active status when the first notification was received; andidentifying for each of the identified one or more communications atleast one of a start time of the communication, an end time of thecommunication, a length of the communication, a dialed number, acommunication identifier, a caller number, or a callee number.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising at least one of prompting a userof the first user device to redial at least one of the identified one ormore communications or prompting the first user device to auto-redial atleast one of the identified one or more communications.
 11. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving an acknowledgement responsefrom the service provider; and deleting data regarding one or morecommunication sessions that had an active status when the firstnotification was received.
 12. A computer-implemented method formanaging dropped call operations comprising: receiving communicationdata for at least one dropped communication from a user device;verifying the at least one dropped communication has an active status;and at least one of tearing down the at least one dropped communication,removing the at least one communications from a list of activecommunications in a current communications memory, or providing billinginformation for a communication session associated with the at least onedropped communication to a billing server.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the communication data comprises at least one of a start time ofthe communication session, an time when network connectivity was lostduring the communication session, a length of the communication, adialed number, a communication identifier, a caller number, or a calleenumber for each of the at least one dropped communications.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein providing billing information comprisesproviding an end time of the communication session associated with whenthe communication data was received.
 15. The method of claim 12, whereinproviding billing information comprises providing an end time of thecommunication session associated with a time when network connectivitywas lost during the communication session.
 16. A system for managingdropped call operations, comprising: a mobile application configured to:receive a first notification of a change in network connectivity duringa communication session between a first user device and a second userdevice; receive a second notification of a change in networkconnectivity; generate communication data for the communication sessionbased on a time that the first notification of a change in networkconnectivity was received; and transmit the communication data to aservice provider.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the firstnotification of a change in network connectivity identifies that networkconnectivity to the first user device is lost, and wherein the secondnotification of a change in network connectivity identifies that networkconnectivity to the first user device is restored.
 18. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the first notification of a change in networkconnectivity indicates a disconnection of the communication sessionbetween the first user device and the second user device.
 19. The systemof claim 16, wherein the communication session is established using aVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunication applicationdisposed on a first user device, and the communication session is aSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) session.
 20. The system of claim 16,wherein generating communication data comprises: identifying one or morecommunications that had an active status when the first notification wasreceived; and identifying for each of the identified one or morecommunications at least one of a start time of the communication, an endtime of the communication, a length of the communication, a dialednumber, a communication identifier, a caller number, or a callee number.